Graduation Date

Fall 2018

Document Type

Thesis

Program

Master of Arts degree with a major in English, emphasis in Literary & Cultural Studies

Committee Chair Name

Janelle Adsit

Committee Chair Affiliation

HSU Faculty or Staff

Second Committee Member Name

Barbara Curiel

Second Committee Member Affiliation

HSU Faculty or Staff

Keywords

Representation, Diversity, Publishing, Young adult literature, Cultural studies, Queer, Latinx, Xicanx, Anzaldua, Third world feminisms, Reader response, Critical creative writing

Subject Categories

English

Abstract

This project examines how diverse representation changes the discourse around queer latinx identities. This project extends theories of representation that show how a text changes the imaginary of the reader through a two-part methodology. First, through explicating Spit & Passion and A Cup of Water Under My Bed, this project examines how these texts construct a readers’ imaginary. Then, through a corresponding qualitative assessment on readers’ responses to the texts, this project identifies the extent to which the texts change the beliefs and understandings of a small group of students. Articulating an ecology of identity using the texts under examination, this project offers a representational analysis of the ways Cristy C. Road and Daisy Hernández exhibit their queer latinx identities and the forms of resistance they use to survive the constraints of their particular cultural, historical, spiritual, material, political and personal spheres. Further, the representational analysis looks at how Road and Hernández follow in the path laid out by other latinx and queer theorists and engage in Anzaldúa’s “autohistoria-teoría.” Additionally, using a mixed-methods qualitative assessment, this project follows the shift that occurs in readers’ identity forming and ideological perspectives once they have read the two texts. Most importantly, this qualitative assessment demonstrates that Cristy C. Road’s Spit & Passion and Daisy Hernández’s A Cup of Water Under My Bed impact readers’ understanding of their own identities, their understanding of the identities portrayed in the texts, and their worldview.

Citation Style

MLA

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